While Amazon's FBA program has many advantages for sellers, it hasn't always been beneficial for those selling small, inexpensive items. Unless you regularly move a ton of product, you're not going to be looking at much of a profit.
In 2015, the marketplace made strides to level the playing field for these products with the Amazon Small and Light program, which helps reduce the cost of fulfilling orders for small and lightweight FBA inventory.
Here's what you need to know about this low-cost fulfillment solution, including important fee and eligibility updates for 2023.
When FBA Small and Light was first introduced, it was only available to select sellers and targeted products that weighed 8 oz or less and sold for under $7.
The program also had pretty strict rules for eligibility — a minimum sales velocity for ASINs and a minimum number of units for shipment were required — but the marketplace has since done away with them to make it easier for sellers to qualify.
Today, for products to be eligible, they must be:
Amazon increased the price threshold for eligible products from $10 to $12, effective January 17, 2023.
Several product types are ineligible for the program, including:
Note that crushable products, like potato chips or glass items, are eligible as long as they are packed properly. You must follow the same prep and packaging requirements as with regular FBA.
All standard Amazon seller fees and FBA fees still apply to those enrolled in the program, which is currently available in the US, UK, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and Japan.
In November 2023, Amazon announced several fee changes for the Small and Light program starting January 17, 2023. The chart below can be found in Seller Central and nicely summarizes what has changed.
Size tiers for small standard and large standard 1 lb and under will now be divided into 4 oz increments. Additionally, size tiers for large standard over 1 lb will be divided into 0.5 lb increments.
For all large standard units, Amazon will use either the unit weight or the dimensional weight (whichever one is greater) to determine the shipping weight; small standard units will use the unit weight.
For more information on Amazon's 2023 FBA fee changes, visit this Seller Central page.
While the reduced fulfillment costs and inclusion into FBA are obvious benefits, there are more. Small and Light products are covered under Amazon's A-to-z Guarantee, and they're available with free shipping for Prime members and standard shipping for non-Prime customers.
Plus, some Small and Light products priced $5 or below that belong to the Consumables category (Beauty, Health & Personal Care, Grocery, and Baby) are eligible for a 5% price discount when a customer orders two or more units of the same item. Amazon will cover the cost of the discount and no action from you is required.
You can also have an FBA Small and Light offer and a standard FBA offer on the same product. Or, you may decide to create a Small and Light offer with FBA and also fulfill these orders yourself.
As you can see, this program can really expand your customer reach and help keep low-priced products competitive. It's also a great opportunity to test out new products and markets.
That being said, there are some potential downsides. You'll want to closely read the Small and Light Terms and Conditions and follow the Prep and Packaging guide to the letter. There are some unique program requirements to be aware of, most notably that each unit must have an Amazon barcode and units may not be bundled.
If you choose to create multiple offers, either through standard FBA or fulfillment by merchant, things can get pretty complicated. An offer creation guide is available, but it can still be easy to make a mistake.
Not every small, inexpensive item will be a good fit for the program, either. You'll also need to keep in mind the impact of price or weight increases — if the item goes above the threshold, it will be converted to standard FBA and be subject to normal FBA fulfillment fees.
Lastly, since these items tend to sell faster, staying in stock can be much more difficult. You'll need to have a reliable inventory management system like RestockPro in place. High-velocity products simply demand more attention, and RestockPro's priority flags and tags let you know what you need and when so you don't end up in trouble with your customers — or with Amazon.
You can use RestockPro to build and manage all of your FBA shipping plans and easily track suppliers and key product and cost information. If you need to print stickers and labels or calculate product profitability, we've got you covered there, too!
This detailed enrollment guide from Amazon is a great resource for anyone interested in joining the Small and Light program. If you're ready to enroll, get started now!
Want to see RestockPro in action? Watch this software demo or schedule a 1:1 walkthrough today.
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